EX ORIENTE DEADLINE

Apply with your documentary project through our online ENTRY FORM (Application is free of charge)

Submissions are now open for Ex Oriente Film 2014, the year-long international workshop supporting the development and funding of creative documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe. At the three workshop sessions taking place in the course of one year, directors and producers develop their projects and funding strategies and benefit from the assistance and valuable advice provided by leading European producers, directors, experts and commissioning editors. The Ex Oriente Film training programme culminates with the East European Forum co-production meeting, allowing documentary filmmakers to pitch their projects to Europe’s and North America´s leading commissioning editors, distributors, buyers and film fund representatives.

Among the successfully completed documentaries that have participated in Ex Oriente Film workshop and won many awards at the major international festivals, there are for example: Blind Loves (dir. Juraj Lehotský; Slovak Republic, 2008), At the Edge of Russia (dir. Michal Marczak; Poland, 2010), Rabbit a la Berlin (dir. Bartek Konopka; Poland, Germany, 2009) or Village Without Women (dir. Srdjan Sarenac; France, Croatia, 2010).

Feature length (52´up) documentary projects tackling contemporary topics, challenging genre and media boundaries and audience participation. Projects we seek should show engagement beyond mere observation of events and integrate film and audiences, using innovative ways of storytelling and new modes of perception. We welcome filmmakers who set out to conduct intense experiences and to change the way we think about topical issues, audiences, and the world itself.

Participants:

About 12-14 projects will be selected out of all submissions, which totals 24 – 28 participants (director-producer teams) attending the workshop. The workshop is designed primarily for directors and producers from Central and Eastern Europe and/ or for creative documentary projects dealing with stories from Central and Eastern Europe.

Conditions of Participation:

Directors and producers participate with their own creative documentary projects. It is required that all workshop sessions be attended by both the director and the producer. Participants must be proficient in English.

Participation Fee:

The participation fee is EUR 1,500 per selected project (includes accommodation, coffee breaks and lunches during all the three workshop sessions for 1-2 pers.).

Scholarships:

Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia may apply for scholarship to cover part of the participation fee. Applicants must prove that there is no access to scholarship in their own country and that the project is not supported by any development funding.

EX ORIENTE FILM STEP BY STEP:

1st Session: “Find Your Originality”

July 21 – 26, 2014 (Rijeka, Croatia, organized with the support of Udruga Ukus production company and REFINERI workshop)

The first session of the workshop deals with inspiration, focusing on the development of the documentary project, primarily its story potential, as well as researching the potential for documentary co-production and laying the groundwork for project production. The programme is divided between various master classes held by visiting experts and practical intensive work on the projects. The first session aims to integrate the participants into a functioning group, establishing positive atmosphere for creative networking as well as defining the position of each project within the context of the European documentary market.

2nd Session: “Production Development”

October 22 – 28, 2014 (Jihlava, Czech Republic, within Jihlava IDFF)

The second workshop session focuses on budgeting, legal aspects of co-productions, strategies for selecting commissioning editors and the proper television format, as well as a deeper creative development of the projects, the rough material as well as the documentary script. The second session is specific in that it has partly separate programme for directors and producers. It also puts a strong emphasis on the development of project distribution strategy.

3rd Session: “The Market Opens” & East European Forum

March 2 – 8, 2015 (Prague, Czech Republic)

In March 2014, the workshop will culminate with the East European Forum pitching session that is designed to enhance funding potential of the attending projects. The third session deals mainly with practical skills that are necessary for the presentation of the project and the pitching. However, its tutoring framework focuses mainly on distribution plan and sales, post-pitching negotiation techniques, as well as communication strategies to get European/ North American broadcasters involved in the project. Theoretical parts of the session discuss specific examples of international co-production through case studies presented by commissioning editors, producers and distributors.

An important aspect of Ex Oriente Film is the year-round online sessions and consultations led by head tutors and guest tutors of the workshop. The three residential Ex Oriente Film workshops and the East European Forum pitching are supplemented by the Follow-Up Support Programme which tracks the projects till their completion, providing former participants with consultation and scholarships for international festivals and markets and helping to multiply their professional contacts.